


Keepsake

by orphan_account



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening, Super Smash Brothers, 光神話 | Kid Icarus (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Palucina, Romance, wow look it's some more gayness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-08 01:33:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5478320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, you never know how strong, how important a moment is until it's a distant memory. Lucina and Palutena had to learn this the hard way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keepsake

**Author's Note:**

> A bit AU; some Fire Emblem: Kakusei things are different. I have a pretty large story coming out, but I decided to write several chapters of it, maybe all of them, before releasing anything (to keep myself organized). Enjoy this, though~! Inspiration for this (if anyone cares), I was watching that hentai Shoujo Sect where the two girls knew each other in childhood but one forgot; I also was reading a story in English class about memory and rituals, and how they tie us back to our origin. I was ALSO doing a science lab on memory and had to do some background research. And that is how you met this story.
> 
> WARNING: HORRIBLE CHEESINESS AND ROMANCE AHEAD. OH, AND SEX.

Lucina faithfully ran out to the field, each morning. All she heard from her father was that training needed to be persistent and effective. So when her father rose bright and early to spar or go over battle strategies with Robin, she was up as well, although resting in her cot until he departed. Afterwards, she dressed and ran out into the crisp morning air.

There was a large field about a half a mile from her tent, away from the campgrounds. Plush, untamed blades of grass that nobody bothered to tend to; squirrels perfect for chasing; hidden away by a thicket of bushes, ensuring privacy; a nice little ditch for Lucina to hide her "weapons" (sloppily carved sticks); it was perfect.

Well, it was.

"Are you a nut or something?"

Lucina whirled around, sweating and panting after swinging her "sword" in the air for an hour and a half straight. "Huh?" She realized that she had to fight any offenders, and she immediately took a battle stance, shaking just a little. Okay, a lot.

After holding the stick in fear, eyes shut, for ten minutes straight, she opened them slowly to see if her foe (she thinks) is gone. They are not; then she notices that they're  _giggling_. Next, she observes that it's no real enemy; just a girl, like her. A bit older, maybe. But a girl. A girl that seemed to be laughing at her. She had long, silky green hair pulled back into a braid and a white dress on that looked really pretty (albeit, if someone tried to dress Lucina in one, she would kick and scream). A flower crown rested on her head; she had an innocent faced that Lucina abhorred; it wasn't fair. Lucina had scratches and scrapes from getting into every single situation possible, but this girl had pale, beautiful skin and shiny green hair.

The blue-haired little girl remembered the question at hand. "Are  _you_  a nut?"

"I'm not the one swinging a stick in the air!" The girl began to laugh even harder, blushing and doubling over.

"Yeah, but I could kick your butt!"

The girl pouts, her expression shifting. "How old are you, five?"

"Actually, I'm ten _._  How old are you, fifty?" Lucina folded her arms, sheathing her stick in her belt-loop. One day, she would get a real one. Perhaps if she alphabetized Robin's bookcases and saved up some money, she could buy a real sword, maybe!

"No, I'm twelve," the green-haired girl scowls. "What's your name? You're very rude. Probably because you're just a little baby."

Lucina draws the stick threateningly. "Watch it! I  _will_  kick your butt!" The girl folds her arms, as if...expecting something. Expecting Lucina to do it. Lucina falters, then growls and drops the stick, kicking it around. "My name's Lucina. And I'm not a baby."

"Lucina? Hm. How about Lucy?"

"No."

"Then I'll call you Bluebird! Because of your hair," the girl quips.

The newly-named "Bluebird" huffs. "I'd prefer Lucy to  _that_." The girl gives a "what can you do about it?" shrug and Lucina smirks, a newfound confidence inside of her veins. "I suppose I have to call you...Clover!"

The girl flinches. "So be it."

Lucina grins. "Alright, Clover! What's your favorite color?"

Clover pauses to think. "Um...gold. What's yours?"

"Rainbow! All of them!" Clover smiles, seemingly reluctantly, at the girl's optimism, and soon they were in a full-blown conversation. What's your favorite sandwich? What do you like to do for fun? What's your favorite book? How long can you hold your breath (which resulted in a contest, which resulted in laughter)? Throughout their talk, Clover took on an air of superiority; Lucina knew that Clover was not that much older than her, but she accepted the dominance that Clover displayed. It was charming; even comforting in a way.

Then, it all came to a screeching halt.

"What does your dad do? My father is a swordswoman."

Clover hesitated. "I-I-" Suddenly, thunder struck, the sky turning almost black, and the girl almost looked completely white. "He does that, for starters."

Lucina looked up at the sky; she was actually unsure where the weather came from or how it functioned. She knew a lot about science but she hadn't gotten that far yet. "Your dad controls the weather?"

The green-haired girl ponders the question, then replies carefully. "Not exactly...I have to go, though, Bluebird. Toughen up while I'm gone. Grow a few inches." Clover backs away and then turns, running through the thicket of bushes that separated this heaven from the rest of the world.

"W-wait! Can I see you tomorrow?" Lucina calls after her. "I can't grow a couple inches by...tomorrow..." The bluenette's voice trails off as she realized that Clover was gone. Dismayed, she stands and buries her sword once more, the lust for battle dead inside of her. She cuts through the bushes and sulks back to her tent, realizing that the clouds had dispersed and the height of the sun displayed that it was past noon. She had been talking with Clover for hours...

Her father was fuming when she reached him. After a stern talking-to and the threat of a spanking if she  _ever_  scared him like that again, Lucina was sent to her cot to reflect on what she did. Not too much longer, Robin tiptoes in with some chocolate; it was kind of a good-cop bad-cop scenario when she got in trouble. If Robin reprimanded her, Chrom would baby her afterwards, and vice versa. Lucina took the chocolate eagerly, munching on it as Robin tried to get a recap. "Chrom said that you ran away, but I believe there's three sides to a story."

Lucina furrowed her brow. "D-don't you mean two? Father's and mine?"

Robin shakes his head wisely. Lucina believed he did everything wisely; he was so smart. So was Father. "No, three; his, yours, and the truth." Lucina ponders this as Robin ponders where she was. "Noire and Tharja are both still sleeping, so that's ruled out. Did you run off with that taguel boy of yours?"

"Yarne's not  _my_ taguel boy. And, no."

"How about Inigo? It's so mind-numbingly cute how he brings you flowers," Robin says, chuckling. Lucina pouted and shook her head.

"I went to a hiding place," Lucina said slowly; she trusted Robin, but what if he and Father began training at her field? No, no, that would not do.

Robin frowns. "Hiding place. Not too far, I hope?" Lucina shakes her head, relieved; Father probably would've blown a gasket and asked where it was. Robin was really cool, though. "Alright."

"And I have a friend there," Lucina says, growing more animated as she continues. "Chocolate is her favorite snack, just like mine, and her favorite color is gold and her dad controls the weather and she can say the alphabet backwards so fast it makes my head spin! She's not from here, though. She said she's from somewhere far away!"

The tactician was laughing a bit too much for Lucina's liking at that point. "Her father...controls the weather? I see. I think we should, uh, talk. About...imaginary things and real things. See, Lucina-"

Lucina groaned. "I know about imaginary friends and all that. I know Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy and the Boogie Monster, they aren't real. But she is."

"What's her name?" Robin says sweetly; Lucina didn't have to be too much older to realize he was entertaining her for her benefit. It was flattering, but it pained her to know that he didn't believe her.

"I call her Clover because of her pretty green hair. But her real name is...uh..." Lucina stops mid-sentence. By the gods, she never asked what Clover's real name was! "Oh gods, I'm a bad friend! I gave her a nickname and I don't know her real one!" Robin tries to calm her down, but Lucina was in a fit now. "I can't believe it. I have to go back tomorrow and see if she's there!"

Robin blanched. "I-I don't think you should do that..."

Lucina heard her father's voice bellowing from outside of the tent. "Lucina? You can come out now, if you'd like!" The bluenette didn't want to. She rolls over and goes back to sleep, wracking her brain for Clover's real name; it didn't come.

* * *

"Sister, you're so foolish," Medusa cackles, and "Clover" winces. Yes, her father, Zeus, was probably going to be angry; however, it was worth it. The girl was...intriguing. Bluebird.

Clover thinks back and smiles just a little at the thought of the bluenette claiming her favorite color was rainbow. How childishly adorable; Palutena wished she had that innocence. She didn't, however; which was even more reason for her to stop before she got in too deep with Palutena. Before she could get too deep into the fresh memory, her father appeared, roaring in anger; his voice rumbled with the very thunder of his being. "Palutena! I have told you all too much not to travel to other worlds and meddle with the mortals!" Her sister Medusa stood at his side, all smirks and instigation.

"My apologies, Zeus." Clover... _Palutena_  knew he didn't quite like it when she called him Father.

"I shall relinquish your... _privileges..._ if you continue to anger me like this. Mortals are disgusting, incompetent beings that you have no business conversing with. The very sight of you angers me." Zeus scowls, and Palutena bows her head, scuttling away; his dismissive tone told her that she should leave.

**II.**

It was four years until Lucina saw Clover again. She had gotten enough money about a year ago to buy a sword that was unbelievably dull (and her father refused to get it sharpened), but it would work. It looked nothing like the Falchion, though. Her form had improved a little, but she was still quite clumsy.

She was hacking at a tree when she heard a snicker from behind (and above?) her. "You're barely making a scratch in that tree, Bluebird."

Lucina turned to see the very girl she had missed for so long; not a day went by that she didn't think about Clover. At first, it was just a "I wonder when Clover is coming back" but then it turned to "I wonder  _if_  Clover is coming back". Soon, it was a full-blown "I  _need_  Clover to come back"; Lucina traveled to the field with more purpose than ever before. Clover had had a growth spurt and was now towering over Lucina, who was fourteen and still was mistaken for an eight year-old. It wasn't fair. Clover looked like she still had room to grow and she was already tall; soon enough she would be a six-foot supermodel or something. However, supermodel wouldn't be fitting with the shiner she had on her right eye.

"C-Clover!" Lucina squealed, trying not to seem too excited; it failed. She wanted to ask "where were you" and be mad that she was gone so long, but all she could think about was her black eye; even the previous questioning of her real name was lost (of course, that thought had appeared years ago). "What happened to your eye, Clover?"

Clover looks away, sneering; Lucina was probably wrong, but she looked as if she might cry. "I've been gone for four years and you ask me about my eye? You didn't even say 'hello'. I got in trouble with my father."

Lucina pouts. "Sorry. You scared me! Are you okay? Y'know, fathers shouldn't give their daughters black eyes."

The greenette didn't reply, but instead looked at Lucina more closely than before. "Stop talking about my eye. What's that in  _your_  eye?" The blue-headed girl twisted her face in confusion, causing Clover to groan. "Your left eye! It has...something in it!"

Bluebird blinks before giving a long " _oh_ " of realization. "That's the Brand of the Exalt! Everyone in my family has it. My father says we're royalty." Lucina was about to go into a long speech about the whole Exalt thing, but soon, Clover had her pinned against a tree by her wrists. "Wah! What are you doing?!"

"I want to see it closely," Clover states factually. She leans in, and she smelled like cinnamon. It made Lucina swoon and she even swayed a bit. "Stay still! Only babies squirm like that, you know." Lucina frowned. She was still calling her a baby! Lucina stayed still just to prove a point. Clover looked deep into her eyes; both of them, not just the one with her Brand.

"Isn't this usually the part where we kiss?" Lucina says suddenly; she wasn't thinking. Maybe she had read one too many romance books, but they were looking deeply into each other's eyes in a secluded place, and Palutena had her pinned against a tree; their faces were unbelievably close. She looked beautiful, even with a bruised face.

Surprisingly, Clover agreed. "Yes. Have you ever been kissed before?"

Playing it cool, Lucina says swiftly, "Maybe."

"...okay, so no."

Dismayed that her charade was called, Lucina looked away. "Well, have you kissed anybody?"

"Once."

"Oh."

A comfortable pause fell over them. Clover had never let go of Bluebird's wrists; she instead held on to them a bit tighter. Finally, Lucina breaks the silence. She had to; she was curious. "I...people say that kissing a girl is wrong. Or marrying a girl. Not that I want to marry you! I mean, not that I wouldn't. Um...never mind. I just want to say that people say it's wrong. But I want to do it. Not marry you! Kiss you!" Lucina groans at her horrible choice of words and even shudders, but Clover seemed thoroughly entertained.

Shrugging, Clover nods. "Sure. Why not?" Lucina grins in surprise and excitement, then leans in quickly; however, her plan failed and she bumped noses roughly with Clover, who unpinned her arms and covered her nose, scowling.  _The one time I put all my effort into being cool..._  "What are you trying to do, give me a nosebleed?"

"I'm very sorry!" Lucina cries out. She pulls Clover's hands away from her face and gently touches her nose; everything seemed fine.

Clover laughs a little bit, pinning Lucina to the tree deeper than before. "How about I tilt my head and you leave yours upright? And just stay still before you give me a concussion or something!" Lucina thought Clover was still angry until she noticed the slight smirk on her face. Right. This was funny. Lucina nodded in agreement and Clover slowly leans in, tilting her head just a little and pressing her (soft! Soft, so soft!) lips to Bluebird's. Lucina gasps a little, squirming (like a baby, she assumed Clover was thinking); Clover pushed her into the tree a little bit more, silencing her.

Soon, Clover pulls away, causing Lucina to frown. Clover was looking up at the sky, flinching with her bad eye. "H-huh? No tongue?"

"Not today."

"I know I won't see you tomorrow!"

"You will. I didn't promise last time but I'm promising you now," Clover says, determined. "But it looks like a storm is coming on; my dad is looking for me."

Lucina furrows her brow. "Why? Are you not supposed to be here?" Clover shakes her head, and Lucina sighs. "Alright. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble. B-but make sure you come back! The same time, tomorrow!"

Clover salutes Lucina playfully, finally unpinning her. "Aye-aye. Besides, I disappear for four years and you think I'll do it again? Such little faith."

Clover turns to leave, but Lucina captures her hand. "O-one before you go?" Clover smiles softly as Lucina blushes, quickly pressing her lips against hers. "Tomorrow?"

"I swear on it."

Bluebird pouts. "Your word better be good!"

"You should stop being such a pessimist," Clover says, waving her hand dismissively. Lucina raises an eyebrow as Clover runs away. What the hell was a pessimist?

It was still early morning when Lucina got back to her tent; her father and Robin were still training. She had actually had her _first kiss_ , though, so she had to tell somebody. Noire, Yarne, and Inigo were her best friends, but Robin was her bestest; plus, the kids her age were all quite talkative. There was no guarantee that her secret would be kept. Catching up to Chrom and the silver-haired tactician, she pulls on her "uncle"'s Grandmaster Cloak, much like a child. "Robin, we need to talk."

"Eh? I'm quite busy," he says, discarding a tome as it burned.

"No, no, this cannot wait."

Robin looked at Chrom, who looked at Lucina, who pouted. Chrom shrugs and gives his reply. "If it's that important. Wait, wait-it's not a, um, girl thing is it? Do I need to get you those, er, things?"

" _No,_  Father," Lucina says, her cheeks burning.

"Oh. Alright, then! Carry on. Don't be too long, hm?"

Robin waves for Lucina to follow him, and they sit underneath a tree as Chrom continues to swing his sword in a practiced form. Lucina turns to Robin, quite determined. "Three questions. But before I ask them, please promise that you won't tell Father that I asked them and that you won't laugh or anything, that you'll just answer them." The tactician rose an eyebrow, but ultimately agreed. "Alright. Thank you. When did you have your first kiss, did you bump noses, and what do you think about gay people?"

Robin blinks, staring at Lucina with an incredulous look. "I...I was sixteen," he says, still in awe at her questions. "And, yeah, we did bump noses. It was quite awkward at first. Also...what was the third?"

"Gay people, what do you think?"

"Elaborate?"

"Like...argh, Robin!" Lucina was growing frustrated. "D-do you think it's wrong?!"

He hums in thought, then says thoughtfully, "I think the exact opposite. People are born gay or bisexual; it's not something you can classify as 'wrong'. Now, may I ask you a question?" Lucina nodded, crossing her legs. "Did you kiss a girl today?"

Lucina nods once more, her lips still tingling. She absently raises her fingers to touch them before quickly slamming her hand down to the ground and replying. "Yes. But it wasn't anything too explosive, no...tongue, or anything...oh, and don't tell Father!"

"Cross my heart," Robin says, and he actually did it. Robin was just too cool for words! Lucina smiles in relief. "Who was it?" He inquires. Looking around, he whispers, "Was it Noire? I don't care if you kiss a girl; the same goes for my daughter. Neither of you are in trouble if you did...!"

"No, no. Besides, she would tell you."

Robin agreed. "Yes, of course. Stupid question."

"It was Clover. Remember Clover?" Lucina smiled, her face lighting up at the thought of her green-haired friend.

The tactician leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I can't say that I do. Oh, never mind. The girl with the father who controls the weather. I haven't heard of her for years, Lucina. I kind of thought you had...grown out of her."

"Ack! She's real, Robin!"

"A father who controls the weather? It's quite preposterous," he admits. "But I wholeheartedly respect your decision to belie-" He pauses when he gets a glare from Lucina. "...your decision to enjoy her company."

Lucina breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you. And no telling Father, right?"

"Your father is far from a bigot. I think he would be more concerned with you kissing somebody than what their bits look like." Lucina groaned and blushed. Oh, Naga, why did he have to use the word "bits"? "Of course, you have my word."

Lucina hugs Robin, thanking him profusely. "You're the best, Robin. Oh, and, what's a pessimist?"

"Someone with very negative thoughts." Lucina pauses to think about this. She gives Robin one last hug before running off to her cot to dream about seeing Clover again.

* * *

The day passed by quite slowly. Lucina picked at her peas one by one at dinner to make sure time flew by, but even then, it only took her thirty minutes to finish. Washing up and getting in bed, she peeked through the flaps of the tent; it had still been daylight. She counted the strands of her hair and sat near her father for a while, watching him polish his sword. After that, she climbed back into bed. Watched Chrom some more. Back into bed. Sang some lullabies to herself. Not at all effective. Asked Chrom to sing it. Covered her ears and shook her head. Apologized to a dismayed Chrom who thought he sounded good. Laughed when it turned out, he wasn't hurt; he was gearing her up for the tickle fight of her life. Once the giggling died down, she fell asleep immediately.

She rose the next morning and pulled on her clothes, running a brush through her hair just enough to look a tad bit presentable. Her father wasn't against her roaming around anymore, so it was quite easy for her to run off to the field with no obstacles. Once she arrived, she noticed that Clover was already there, examining Lucina's old makeshift weapons. The greenette looked up and grinned, dropping a shield made of vines and sticks; her eye looked as if nothing had ever happened. "You're late, Bluebird. One might even say four years late!"

"I'm still sore about you doing that to me," Lucina said, dropping her "real" sword and sitting against a tree. Clover had added more accessories to her outfit since they had first met four years ago. She had two golden plates on her forearms that Lucina found to be fascinating. She tried to be angry, but she found herself smiling at how gorgeous Clover was. Lucina felt frumpy compared to her; multiple scars and scratches from playing in the woods and climbing trees or chasing squirrels (which remained fun after years of doing it, despite the many attacks she experienced). She kind of regretted being so rough around the edges, looking at Clover's gorgeous porcelain skin; it gave her a feeling in the pit of her stomach that was...foreign. Lucina had been looking at her hands, and when she looked up, Clover was in her lap, straddling the bluenette. Lucina turned a deep red. "Oi, Clover."

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"You," Lucina said without thinking. Clover's lips curled into a smile.

The greenette hums in thought. "What, exactly?"

"I...I'm not sure," Lucina admits. "How pretty you are. And how weird it makes me feel."

"'Weird'?" Lucina nods, and Clover continues to probe. "How?"

Lucina shrugs. "It tingles. In my stomach, thereabouts."

Clover snickered, and Bluebird blushed. It sucked, feeling so naive around this girl. "Don't tell me you were never taught about the birds and the bees?"

The bluenette faltered. "Y-yeah! Of course I was. Penis in vagina, sperm, egg, baby. I know my stuff!"

"Well, usually, a woman has to feel aroused before all of that. To be lubricated for sex. If I'm not mistaken, that's what you're feeling when you see me. Does it get stronger when I..." Clover trails off, brushing Lucina's hair out of her face. Soon, her hands traveled to Lucina's shoulders and rubbed her (achingly flat) chest, groping her just a little. Lucina wanted to push her off, but she actually didn't; and even if she did, she was glued to the ground by something inside of her. A finger trailed down to her thigh, then drew away. "Does it get stronger when I do that?"

Lucina was hyperventilating, and the feeling in her stomach was almost too much to bear. Actually, it was. She grabbed Clover's shoulders and pulled her closer, tilting her own head this time. Another difference between this and their previous kisses was that she took it to another level, parting her lips. Her tongue didn't have to ask for entrance to Clover's mouth; the greenette's lips parted all on their own. At first, it was a bit awkward, the way their tongues moved. Then, Clover placed her hands on Lucina's cheeks and the younger teen relinquished control. Clover's tongue swayed and brushed against Lucina's; they soon fell into a rhythm and Lucina mimicked Clover's movements. Clover gently bit into Lucina's lip, then pulled away. Lucina was in awe. She licked her lips absent-mindedly, breathing fairly hard. Clover was looking on in amusement. Lucina mumbles, "Oh, Gods," and leans back against the tree, a small smile on her face.

"Exhibit some self-control, why don't you?" Clover teases. Lucina turned a deep tomato-red, mumbling apologies under breath, and Clover giggles even more. "Relax, Lucina. It was a joke," Clover said, climbing off of the bluenette. Sitting next to her and leaning into her a bit, Clover smirks, "You're quite the quick study."

Grinning sheepishly, Lucina pulls her knees to her chest. "Why, thank you."

As if they weren't two horny teenagers sitting all alone in a secluded field, the two carried on a normal conversation; of course, with a few kisses and thigh-rubs in between words or stories. Lucina even got a little curious and groped Clover's breast, causing a squeak to be emitted from the greenette. Then, clouds started to roll in. Clover kissed Lucina on the cheek and ran off.

It wasn't too late when Lucina got back to the campground; her father and most of the camp were out hunting or training. Lucina crawled into bed fully dressed and pulled the blanket over her.  _I think I got to second base today. Well, after first. First is french kissing, right? And second is touching above the naughty parts. Did I just think "naughty parts"? Boy, she's right. I_ am _a baby!_

Lucina thought back to the "lubrication" part of her and Clover's conversation. Was that why she felt wet down there? Sitting up and taking one last look around the tent to make sure her father didn't sneak in under the impression that she was sleeping, she bit her lip in anticipation and curiosity. After confirming that she was alone, she laid back down and slipped a hand past her leggings and past the waistband of her underwear. Yes, it was indeed soaking down there. She rubs a little bit; it felt oddly pleasurable. Something she had never considered doing. She had been a little wet down there before; it was embarrassing to think about, but sometimes, when she peeked in on Robin bathing, she felt it (and also quite jealous of Tharja, for being able to see his body whenever she wanted). Withdrawing her hand, she brings the drenched fingers to her lips and tastes herself. It was unusual, but not completely revolting. She sucks on the fingers and sinks into her pillows, thinking of Clover and what  _her_  mouth would feel like on Lucina's fingers.

* * *

"It's really sensitive down there."

Clover looked up from her nails, raising an eyebrow at the approaching bluenette. "Pardon?" Lucina flinched at the bruises on Clover's wrists; reminding herself that Clover didn't like to talk about the bruises that appeared sometimes, Lucina pushed on with the conversation.

"I kind of...touched down there last night. It was really weird," Lucina says, plopping down next to Clover, who was inspecting her nails studiously. The bruises were normal, but the eye-contact avoidance and lack of speech was new...and disturbing.

The greenette picked at her middle finger and smiled; she didn't look up at Lucina, though. "Could you please, please stop saying 'down there'? Of all the things to call it..."

"My kitty cat?"

"Just say 'down there'," Clover moans, her tone changed. Lucina wasn't exactly sure what she abhorred about the phrase "kitty cat", but Lucina decided to stick to what she knew; 'down there' would work. Clover continues, "And of course it's sensitive. You couldn't have looked more horny if you tried!"

Lucina blushes, twirling her hair around her finger. "Have you ever been to...third base?"

Clover blinks. "Ah, no."

"So no home runs, either?" Clover shakes her head, smiling softly. "Oh."

"I'd like to go there with you, very much," Clover says, anticipating the next question. "However, I...I cannot do that. There are certain circumstances that have to be considered with these things." Lucina furrowed her brow, snuggling into Clover; the weather was getting chillier and the mornings were quite nippy. Clover wrapped her arm around Lucina and pulled her closer. When asked what circumstances prevented them from reaching "third base" (or even the coveted "home run"), Clover frowned. "I may not be around for much longer. I've told you that I'm forbidden from coming here. The bruises I get are punishments for travelling to Ylisse." Pausing and clearing her throat, Clover continued. "I'm not a normal human like you, Lucina."

The bluenette bit her lip. "What's so different?"

"My father is Zeus. A god. I'm a goddess, although a young one. Zeus doesn't control the weather, exactly, but he's the god of all gods, as well as the god of thunder. I can tell he's angry when it's storming, or he's troubled when it's cloudy," Clover explains. "That's why when it starts clouding up, I have to go, and why four years ago, when it stormed so hard, you didn't see me; he was quite angry with me for travelling to other worlds and conversing with its people. And this might be the last time I see you; my father has tightened his guard to prevent me from leaving. I had to come see you one last time; I know that when I go back, something bad is going to happen. Which is why I can't, er, get a 'home run' with you."

Lucina didn't quite understand. "Then...if this is our last time seeing each other, then why wouldn't you want to have sex with me?"  _There. I said it! Sex. Sex, sex, sex, it's what I want, I want it with her!_

"I wouldn't feel right, Lucina," Clover murmurs; there was no throat-clearing or tear-holding at this point. Tears flew down her cheeks, leaving wet streaks on her blushed skin, much like the marks the rain would soon leave on the ground. The sky began to turn grey; still sunny, but clouds rolled in anyway, taking away the sunshine like Clover took away the shred of happiness that Lucina had gained. Of course, she had friends; Noire, Inigo, Severa. But they  _had_  to be her friends, kind of; they were children of the Shepherds. Clover was the first friend that she had that wasn't forced to be around her all of the time. Clover was a true friend. Clover continues. "There's something I feel about you. And cheapening it by touching you in...those other places...and then leaving? I wouldn't feel right."

Clover stood as thunder struck distantly; her father was close, he was close to knowing where she was. Lucina stood as well, taking Clover's hand. "It can't end like this! There has to be...something I can do! I know, I know! I'll tell my father. And Robin! I told you about Robin. He's my best friend...other than you, of course! He'll help you, we'll hide you!"

"No, we can't do that," Clover says, shivering with tears. "My father...he'll rain blood and thunder upon us until he finds me. I can't let you go through that. But I can...I can give you this." Clover takes the flower wreath off of her head, the white flowers beginning to sag as the rain pours. Clover's hair stuck to her face, agony overtaking the usually peaceful and smiling face; Lucina couldn't see her eyes. A different kind of smile formed; a wry one. "I know that hope seems lost now." The goddess was shaking. "T-take this. And don't put it on until it seems as if everything is going to shit." Lucina took a step back in surprise; she had never heard Clover curse.

"Everything is going to shit right now," Lucina murmurs, shaking her head a little.

"You haven't given it time!" Clover scowls, the smile fading. Lucina snatches the laurel, hugging it to her chest. She needed this, this semblance of their friendship, their...relationship. "Only in emergencies. Let me put it like that. In emergencies. If you put it on before it's needed, then everything will fail and we'll never truly see each other again!"

This didn't make sense; none of it did. Never "truly" see each other? What was the difference between "truly" seeing each other and seeing each other? Why was this so confusing? Lucina was sobbing now, begging Clover not to go. "You can't. You can't!" The laurel crushing in between them, Lucina takes Clover into her arms, her head only reaching her neck. "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry, Bluebird," Clover says, shoving Lucina away. The bluenette clutches the flowers, watching helplessly as Clover runs away. Even with the thunder and rain bombarding them, Lucina clearly heard her. "I love you too much..."

Lucina watched her disappear into the thick sheets of rain. Ten minutes passed by as Lucina watched the sky. One large, deafening thunder-strike, and the weather cleared, the sun and tweeting birds mocking her. Lucina was scared to know what the last booming thunder-strike meant. All but timely, Lucina murmurs, "I love you too."

Her boots sloshed through the mud as she made her way back to the campgrounds. She longed to put the laurel on now, grasp the last bit of Clover that she had left. However, Clover's words rang in her mind and he found herself unable. After she reached her tent, she went in to find her mother Sumia and Chrom, as well as Robin.

"Lucina!" Chrom scowled. "We were about to send a party out for you! It's raining cats and dogs out there!"

Shaking her head, the bluenette sat on the floor. "Not anymore. It's all over."

The adults around her all blink and look at each other. Robin looks down to see her holding the laurel to her, trying not to cry. The tactician crouches. "What's that?"

"Clover's gone, Robin," she hiccups. "And she's never coming back unless I keep this. So don't touch it! Ever!" Lucina's tone shifted quickly, defensiveness kicking in. What if one of her parents misplaced it? Then what? What if it was  _stolen_?

_Everything will fail, and we'll never see each other again!_ Lucina flinched at those words. Chrom turned to Robin with a questioning look on her face, mouthing "I've never heard of a Clover before". "Her imaginary friend," Robin explains aloud, trying to be quiet; it failed, and Lucina heard.

"I don't care if you think she's imaginary! She's real! But it doesn't matter, now! She's gone. She's gone!" Lucina threw the laurel on her cot, pulling her knees to her chest and burying her face in them. "And we were going to reach third base, or maybe a home run. And I loved her. A lot. I wanted to marry her! I loved her so much. When she kissed me it was amazing and she hugged me so tight...and she was perfect. She was like one of those ladies in the magazines," Lucina rambled.

Chrom was partly furious and partly confused when Lucina mentioned kissing and third base. Sumia cuts in. "L-Lucina! You're scaring us! Did this Clover girl...touch you? Where did she touch you?"

Lucina wasn't beneath whining at this point; everything had "gone to shit", as Clover put it. "Mother, you just don't get it! She loved me! She said so! And she made me feel so weird that it was good! She loved me and I loved her too!" Lucina was speaking too much; if she kept up like this, she would surely be grounded. However, her parents weren't angry; they looked worried.

Chrom crouched next to her as well. "Lucina, this is serious! If somebody touched you without your consent-"

"No, no, I wanted it! I wanted  _more_! Just shut up! You don't understand her!" Lucina shouted. She had never told her parents to shut up before; she'd never even said it playfully to her friends. It felt awful to say it, but it needed to be said. She just needed everything quiet. Hiding behind a curtain and slipping into pajamas (at noon, even), she throws herself onto her bed, tuning out Robin's claim of "teenage angst", Chrom's angry yell of "who touched you, Lucina?!" and her mother's worried "we have to take her to the doctor"; it didn't matter.

Her parents didn't matter.

Robin didn't matter.

None of her friends mattered.

All she could think about was Clover.

* * *

Palutena walked into her father's palace soaking wet. She prepared herself to meet an end that wasn't exactly an end, but apocalyptic all the same. She didn't wait to be summoned; she walked into her father's throne room, approaching him head-on. Thunder still struck the Earth with the strength of a thousand suns.

Zeus was shaking with anger. "You have done it for the last time, Palutena!" Even the usually snide Medusa was silent with fear; Zeus had her as his right hand, but she knew her place (albeit a higher one than Palutena's). The extent of Zeus' fury knew no bounds. Palutena bowed her head, her face staring at her muddied toes.

It was futile, but Palutena realized it wasn't just her life and emotions on the line here; Lucina was in pain when she left, so the goddess had to try and console her father. Palutena felt her heart ache at that; somebody in pain, because of her.  _She would've been better off never knowing me. To have loved and lost...it's all so stupid._  "I'm sorry, Zeus."

"I don't care about your apologies. They're almost as worthless as you, but I don't know if anything could live up to that standard," he scowls. Summoning his staff, he stands, towering over Palutena. Medusa trembled; that showed the extremity of the situation. "You have had your fun. You fell in love with the human girl and now I shall take it away; every memory you have had from the time you met her to now is  _mine_. You shall feel my wrath!"

Palutena closed her eyes, trying to trap her tears. She knew this was coming; she had been warned. She just couldn't stay away. She widened the wound of love before throwing the salt herself. Shaking, she says, "As you wish, Zeus." This was okay. Lucina may not have been the most socially intelligent human being, but she had wit and she was intellectually on a level that Palutena could only hope to reach; she would know when to make use of the laurel.

The bottom of his staff hit the ground, and the ground rippled. Soon, the quakes reached Palutena's feet, and she fell first to her knees and then to her stomach. Medusa watched on with...less entertainment than she hoped she would have as her sister fell unconscious. Turning to her father, she raised a brow. "This is foolproof?"

Zeus sighed; even that felt like the wind of a hurricane. "Not at all, Medusa. Everything I took away from her is stored in her laurel. I need you to retrieve that laurel from her body and destroy it before she awakens. Understood?"

Medusa could not reply; Zeus had already left the throne room, walking past his daughter's unconscious body without a second glance. Medusa tiptoed up to Palutena, breathing heavily. She saw it from the throne; the laurel was not there. No matter how much Palutena sickened her, what with her light and happy cheer; no matter how much Zeus praised Palutena in the beginning (before his dark, possessive intentions became clear and she began to disobey him)...Medusa still had a sister. Medusa could have easily reported to her father that the laurel was gone. Her sister was no idiot; she knew this was coming, and she probably had the laurel stowed away with that girl of hers.

However, Medusa couldn't help but feel pity. There were no good times to reflect on with Palutena. The two were always at odds; Palutena was the pretty one, the upbeat one, while Medusa was not so beautiful and quite brooding, with her sickly-toned skin and dull expression. The familial connection was there, though, no matter how dim. Medusa kneels next to Palutena, and, kissing her forehead, sighs roughly. "One day, when you and that stupid girl get married, I had better be invited."

**III.**

From that point on, life was a downward spiral for Lucina. Her father and Robin died in a tragic hunting accident when she was sixteen, two years after Clover disappeared. Her friends moved on with their lives after Lucina lost interest in everything. The only hope she had for some kind of redemption, something to hold on to, was the Smash competition. She wasn't sure what to think at first. When she saw her beloved tactician revived, and the Hero-King as well, she jumped for joy; of course, it crumbled when she was informed that they were holograms. She preferred not to look at them.

There was a small pub near the Smash Stadium, where most of the battles took place in virtual stages. Lucina sat there, wondering why she decided to do this in the first place. Perhaps it was to see her father once more (despite his unreal state). It didn't matter; she was there, and she refused to back out. She sipped on a beer that was unbelievably bitter. Letting it slosh down her throat, she flinches. She could never get used to the taste of alcohol. The few times she spoke to her childhood friends, they were speaking of their experiences with partying and celebrating and chugging liquor. Lucina was twenty-eight and had no taste for it.

Over the intercom, she hears her name, along with several others', called for one-on-one matches. It was two fifteen; she had to battle at two thirty. She didn't bother to listen to who she was fighting. Bluebird (oh, how she missed being called that) had dominated the competition so far, along with three other people; she remained in the lead, though. Finishing the mug off and throwing some gold on the counter, she heads to the stadium. Her opponent was already there, flanked by the little angel boy; the less annoying one, Lucina noted. The dark-winged angel was quite the nuisance. And a dick in battle, too; just constantly gloating when he really couldn't have sucked more.

"Lady Palutena, she's one of the best in the competition! What if you get hurt?" The angel asked, quickly following the tall woman.

The woman (Lady Palutena, it seemed her name was), waved her hand dismissively. "Pit, don't worry your pretty little head. Don't be such a pessimist."

Lucina blinked as the woman said that last line. "Don't be such a pessimist"? She felt like somebody had said that to her before. She flinched as she remembered that...it was Clover. Lucina shuddered, biting her lip and completely overthinking it. Other people, surely, have said "don't be such a pessimist". She had gone unnoticed, but Palutena looks at her, waving, with a bright smile. Her smile reached her eyes, even when she didn't smile with teeth. How could someone be so...bright? Glowy? Happy? It was tiring.

Lucina had fought her before, in an earlier match. What a game she played! Lucina came out on top, but Palutena zipped around the stage like it was nothing. It was a close match; a sudden-death round was in order. Once, Palutena got cocky and spun around her staff; Lucina blushed a little when she caught a glimpse of her underwear and almost lost. The bluenette wondered where she got her powers from; she decided to ask. Lucina licks her lips, then remembers that she hadn't responded. Walking a little closer ( _oh, why are you doing this? Speak from afar, speak from afar, speak from afar)_ , Lucina nods, kneeling. She had had loads of etiquette classes due to being the Exalt, but she had  _no_  idea how to talk to people without being a total dork.

"O-oh my!" Palutena laughed. "No, please don't kneel for me! You are the Exalt, no?" The swordswoman rose, blinking and nodding. "You hold a title equal to me. I don't find those formalities necessary. Um, thank you, though."

Ah, what a beautiful voice. Lucina loved to hear her giggle, too. She's heard it a couple of times. It reminded her of Clover's giggle. In fact...her green hair, her spunky attitude... "I-I was quite curious, I had to ask before the match began...where exactly-I mean-"

"My powers?"

"Yes! Precisely," Lucina said, amazed. What  _was_  this woman? A gypsy, perhaps?

Sighing happily, the woman speaks once more; Pit was groaning and palming his eyes, and Lucina could've sworn she heard a "here we go" from the angel. "Well, some might call me skilled. Others may just call me the Goddess of Light! Both are true, unsurprisingly," she says, winking. It sent something straight to her stomach.

Lucina felt her heart drop to her toes once the information she had just received sank in. A goddess with green hair and an upbeat demeanor. Lucina had to probe more, had to find out. "I suppose you're fond of the color gold?"

"Love it!"

"And hate crickets?"

"Disgusting, annoying creatures."

"And your favorite sandwich is a Reuben on rye?"

The goddess blinks. "I...why, yes." Lucina could see the question forming on the greenette's lips, but the announcement rang out; the match was about to begin.

* * *

"You threw that match."

Lucina had lost for the first time in the Smash competition. She cleaned the dirt off of her sword in the garden outside of the Smash Stadium; of course, she had thrown the match. There was a slim possibility that this wasn't Clover. Everything about her was right. Lucina had thrown the match pretty fucking hard, dropping her sword, missing the Smash Balls, the whole bit. Palutena was pretty pissed. Lucina coolly replied, "I did no such thing. You're a formidable foe."

Palutena sits next to Lucina on the bench, looking around. They were surrounded by an elliptical flower-laden fence; there was a small pond in the middle of the circle. Leaning in a bit too close for Lucina's comfort, "Clover" whispers, "There's nobody here. Just tell me why you threw the match."

The bluenette couldn't resist it anymore. The Falchion clattered on the cement as she leans in (not much; Palutena was quite close) and closes the gap between them. Lucina had to tilt her head before she placed her lips on Palutena's, winding her fingers into Palutena's gorgeous emerald hair. The goddess whimpers and places her hands on Lucina's chest, trying to push her away. Lucina wouldn't allow it. She broke for air and then dove right back in, resisting Palutena's force until the hands stopped shoving and the goddess melted into her; they became one. Lucina had to make her remember. Tilting her head to the other side, Lucina continues to kiss her, Palutena mostly lying dormant until her tongue began to brush against the bluenette's. Obviously enjoying the feel, Palutena deepens their risque make-out session, clutching Lucina's tunic.

After what seemed like hours, they pulled away, both of them panting and holding onto each other. With one swipe of her tongue, Palutena licks her plump, pink lips. Her face...it had a look of surprise.

"Don't you remember?" Lucina whispers.

"I don't know what you're talking about. But, gods, that was amazing!"

Growling, Lucina tried again. "We've-we've kissed before."

The goddess looked at Lucina as if she were an alien life-form. "Eh...no..."

"When you were sixteen. And I was fourteen," Lucina urges. "I know you haven't forgotten that easily...!"

Palutena frowns. "I'm sorry." Lucina nodded sadly, turning away and picking up her sword. She was clinging onto something that wasn't there. Who didn't hate crickets? A Reuben on rye was a tasty sandwich, loved by many. Green hair was something that was fairly rare, but it wasn't impossible for more than one bright-eyed bushy-tailed goddess to have it. All coincidences. "But-but don't go! I could help you...maybe I did forget? I'm sure I wouldn't have wanted to, but most of my girlhood is lost on me anyways. You're a sweet girl from what I've heard...and tasted."

Lucina blushes.  _Come on. Clover would totally say something like that!_ "Help? How?"

"Maybe you could try and jog my memory. Do things that you and this girl you believe I am did?" Palutena tried weakly. "It's not entirely impossible! Like, for example. You claim we kissed...when you were fourteen and I was sixteen. So, a two year age gap. I'm thirty. You're...?"

"Twenty-eight."

"Yes!" Palutena was quite excited about this now. "That's perfect! And as I said before, I don't have a good memory of my childhood. All of this could've been lost in translation, perhaps?"

Lucina smiles a bit. "I suppose that...could be true?"

"Of course! Let us depart, right now!" Palutena stood, taking Lucina's hand and dragging her off to the Smash Portal; Lucina knew exactly where to start.

* * *

Palutena looked around in awe at the field. The lush grass remained, as well as the scuttling squirrels that Lucina hated to admit, looked pretty fun for chasing. Some things never change. Palutena roamed the field a bit, Lucina close behind. "It's so beautiful! What significance did you say this had?"

"This is where we first met. And where we first...kissed. And reached, er, second base."

The goddess didn't seem the least bit embarrassed; Lucina was blushing profusely. "I see. Second base, hm?"

Lucina nods, hands in her pockets. "Getting anything?"

Palutena shakes her head, sighing. "But, that's okay! Tell me more."

"E-eh? What more do you need me to tell you?!" Lucina toed the grass, uprooting a few blades and patches.

The seemingly Clover-like Palutena shrugs. "What else we did here."

"Alright, um, we kissed. We groped each other a little bit. We talked about your father," Lucina said, the last one a bit accentuated. Did her father have something to do with Palutena forgetting all of this? "You spoke so much of how you hated him. Zeus, it was."

Palutena shook her head vigorously. "No, no, that's not right. Well, yes, my father is Zeus; and I don't know how you'd know that if I wasn't this girl you speak of. 'Clover', you say? Yes. Zeus is my father. But I love him with all of my heart!"

"I can't see why," Lucina said, rage bubbling within her; she hated to sound so angry, as if she were yelling at the goddess. She actually was. "Y-you used to show up with bruises on your wrists and face from when he would hit you! That's not right. None of this is, and I do not know why you keep putting all of his effort into helping me when I'm clearly wrong."

The goddess flinches. "Don't be so negative. We're going to find Clover, even if it's not me!" Her voice raised in volume as well. Lucina was quite surprised that she could be so loud and forceful, the normally level-headed goddess. "Now, tell me more."

Lucina talked about every second she could remember to Palutena, watching intently as the woman takes it all in with an occasional nod. "...and when you left, you gave me something. I can't remember what it was."

"That may be important, Lucy." Lucina hated that abbreviation of her name; even so much that in her childhood, she requested to be called otherwise by everybody, Clover being no exception. However, now that she hears it, she likes the nickname. It was quite savory rolling off of Palutena's tongue. "You can't remember?"

Lucina shakes her head. "I'm sorry...oh, this is pointless."

"No more of that!" Palutena says, gently tugging on Lucina's ear. The bluenette groans. "Get optimistic or I will ensure that you rue the day, missy!"

"Hooray! Woohoo! Yay!" Lucina says desperately, the tugging getting stronger. Palutena let go, smiling. The bluenette watched the goddess smile. It was quite contagious; she felt her lips curl upwards without even knowing it. They were standing underneath a tree. The fall looked gorgeous in Ylisse. Orange leaves fell from the branches and coated them both, a slight gust of wind blowing through their hair. Lucina felt her mind slip back into the depressed state that had overtaken her ever since Clover left. The goddess noticed Lucina frowning again as well as staring, and pokes the swordswoman in her shoulder. "Eh? Oh. Right. Optimism and stuff, yeah."

"Good. Now, tell me even more!"

* * *

After a couple of hours of talking and walking around the field, Lucina gave it up. They trekked back to her tent, Lucina's head low. Palutena had repeatedly tried to convince her that they should keep trying, but it was hopeless. The bluenette thanked the Gods that none of her "friends" were hanging around her tent. "Don't you want to live in that big castle, Miss Exalt?" Lucina was surprised she knew about it (it was quite far from here), but then she remembers that Palutena had some powers for that or something.

"No. I prefer a tent on the campgrounds, it's much more...familiar." Lucina wanted to say that it was closer to the field and she still went there everyday under the guise of training (but really just waiting around for Clover), but she didn't want to seem like a weirdo. "I don't understand why you insist on hanging around."

"You're distressed. I can't leave a friend like that!"

Lucina blinked a couple of times. "F-friend?"

"Of course you're my friend, stupid," Palutena scoffs, brushing leaves off of her as they stood outside of the girl's tent. "Oh, dear. These leaves are gorgeous, but they're everywhere!" She picks them out of her laurel, taking it off of her head. Lucina's eyes locked onto the laurel; something was coming, something, some thought...it was bubbling inside of her. "Lucy? Are you alright?"

No reply. Lucina's lips parted. She backs into the tent, taking Palutena's hand and pulling her inside. Suddenly, clothes and books and papers were flying everywhere. Palutena caught some things and set them on the bed as the younger woman dug through the things resting on the floor in her tent. Finally, a good ten minutes later, a small wooden box was found. Feverishly digging under her mattress, Lucina pulls out the key and opens it. This was where she had kept the laurel ever since that day; Robin had immediately gone to buy it after he saw her panicking over where to put the wreath.

Lucina didn't understand the importance behind this wreath, not by a long-shot. However, she had to try, right? Sitting on the bed, Lucina hands her watch to Palutena. "I don't know what's going to happen when I put this on. But if I pass out or lose consciousness wake me up after  _two minutes._  And if I don't wake up, get help, alright?"

Palutena was unsure, but grabbed the watch anyway. "I...I suppose. But why is this significant?"

"This is what you gave to me," Lucina says, putting the laurel on. Nothing happened.

Agitated, Lucina begins to give up all over again; Palutena reached over and smiled. "The problem here is simple. You're wearing it wrong. Let me fix it. And...that's...about...ri-"

* * *

Running.

Lucina was running, and she didn't know why, exactly. She was just running. It was fun, though; and her hair was longer than usual. She felt it tickle her fingertips, even with her hands straight down. Reaching back and stopping for a second, she braids it. It takes a while; the hair was so long and her fingers got tangled.

* * *

"Lucina?! What happened? Are you okay?"

She suddenly wasn't running anymore. Lucina was actually back in the tent, laying back on her cot. "I think I'm fine. It was weird. I was just running, and braiding my hair. And it was long, too...er, give me another two minutes."

Lucina noticed that Palutena was straddling her. How erotic... "Alright," Palutena says, still looking on worriedly. "Here goes."

* * *

As she runs, a figure forms in the distance. A grin formed; she was interested to see someone here. Coming closer, she notices that the form was swinging a stick in the air. The form turns, and...it was...herself?

Her mind was on autopilot, it seemed; she didn't want to say the words. They just came out. "Are you a nut or so-"

* * *

" _Gah!_ "

Lucina sits up with a jolt, breathing hard. She was inside Clover's mind! Or maybe that wasn't it...perhaps...all of the memories that were lost on Palutena were in that laurel? It was so vivid, as if she were peeking from outside of Clover's eyes, like they were windows. "What happened?!" The green-haired amnesiac asks, panicking.

Lucina was face-to-face with the goddess, who was still straddling her. "I-it was amazing! Everything-well, not everything...but I saw visions! Of me! In the field, where we first met. Except...I wasn't me. I was you."

"Eh...forgive me, but I don't quite follow."

"I think all of your memories are in this wreath," Lucina says, trying to sum it up. "Y-you have to put it on!"

The goddess looked uneasy. "I'm...not sure this will work."

"It has to. It's like, that big gap of your life that you can't remember? This is it," Lucina says, shaking the laurel. "This is the missing chunk. It's all  _here_! Isn't that amazing?"

Palutena sighs, smiling. "Worth a try." Taking the wreath and switching their positions, Lucina crawling off of the bed, Palutena lays back. "I'm a bit scared, but you're my friend! I'm wiling to help anyway I can, Lucina."

The bluenette gushed a little; aw, man, she wanted to jump this woman's bones. "Th-thank you. Are you ready?"

"Born ready!" Palutena grins. Lucina gives a somber nod and places the laurel on Palutena's head. The goddess immediately entered a comatose state, slightly snoring. Lucina watched her for a while before shamelessly grabbing her breast (still soft!) and picking up a book.

* * *

It was fourteen hours before Palutena awoke. Part of Lucina wanted to wake her up, but it was as if the goddess was sleeping; she was breathing fine and didn't feel feverish. When the goddess rose, stretching her arms, Lucina was asleep, her head against the wall. Her back was hurting, but she wanted Palutena comfortable when she awoke. Hearing Palutena stir, her eyes shot open. "Oi. That was a world record, Sleeping Beauty. How do you feel?"

"Not too different," Palutena says, removing the powerless laurel she had on and putting on her normal one. Lucina's face fell. "Get off the floor, Bluebird. It looks uncomfortable."

"I can't feel the repercussions right now, so it's the least of my worries." Lucina stands, rolling her shoulders. Mid-roll, her shoulders froze. "What did you just say?"

"I said get off of the floor."

"After that?"

"...it looked uncomfortable?" Palutena looked utterly confused.

Lucina, on the other hand, was jumping for joy. She tackled Palutena, grinning wider than she had in over a decade. It felt good to smile like that. "You called me  _Bluebird!_  Yes! You're back to normal, Clover!"

"I feel the same. I remember what we were trying to do, but it feels like I never lost these memories in the first place," Palutena says, shrugging.

Lucina nuzzled Clover, overjoyed at the "revival" of her best friend. "I missed you so much, so much! Do you know how much time we have to make up?"

Palutena was equally excited. "A  _ton_. You're twenty-eight now...I left when you were fourteen...by the Gods, that's fourteen years of catching up to do!" Immediately, they fell into their old patterns; question and answer format of conversation. Lucina asked about Pit and her angels and how she came to rule Skyworld; Palutena queried about being the heir of the Exalt throne. They got some food, went back to Lucina's tent, and talked some more. For over five hours, all they did was talk. It was magical to Lucina, how easily her life fell back together. However, Lucina was working up the courage to ask what exactly they were. They were kids when they first met, and basically still kids when they departed from each other. Was it puppy-love, the kisses that Lucina found so real? Friends Lucina had lost in battle, past men that she had fancied; none of them left the empty gap that Clover left when she walked away from Lucina's life. The bluenette found it all too easy to move on from pain, but with Clover, it was impossible.

Just as Lucina was about to ask about their relationship (and ruin the conversation, she was sure), Palutena perked up. "Oh, boy. That's Pit. I have to get going before the palace sets on fire."

"Eh? Pit?"

"We can communicate through my laurel," she explains. "It's very multi-purpose. But never mind that." Grabbing Lucina's war-torn hands in her soft, petite ones, Palutena smiles. "Have dinner with me tomorrow, just me and you!"

Lucina grins, giving Palutena's hands a little squeeze. "It's a date!"

Palutena teased, "Oh, it is?"

The bluenette immediately panics. "My apologies! Was that the wrong wording? I didn't mean to say it like that..."

"Lucina, I was just kidding!" Palutena found it even more hilarious, how flustered the girl was becoming. "It's definitely a date. I'll see you tomorrow." Lucina was about to reply, but was left wordless when the goddess leaned in and pecked Lucina on the cheek, no head-tilting required. "Tomorrow. The palace. Seven. Got it?"

Lucina nodded wordlessly; she couldn't speak.  _Are we going to reach third base? Or even...home?!_

Palutena winks, disappearing through the flaps of Lucina's tent. The bluenette fell back onto the bed, biting her lip. Tomorrow. The palace. Seven.

_Ack! What am I going to do until then? I might die!_

* * *

Somehow not dead, Lucina showed up at seven sharp. As Palutena welcomes her in to the palace and seats them at a table, Lucina looks around in awe. Once they sat and began eating, the conversation started back up; they probably could talk for days straight and the conversation would never go stale. Lucina wasn't usually good at having any valuable conversation with people, but with Palutena, she felt comfortable. Soon, they were in Palutena's room watching a movie on her bed; even that, somehow, remained completely platonic. Of course, that's not how Lucina wanted it, but watching  _Contraband_  and eating chips was enough for Lucina to be happy.

They both laid on their stomachs, eyes glued on the screen. For a split second, though, Lucina looks away. Turning to Palutena, she smiles a little bit and blushes. She wasn't sure how long she stared, but eventually, Palutena says, eyes still on the screen, "I know you're staring at me..."

The bluenette immediately looked away, opting to gaze at the TV instead. "I'm sorry," she says a couple of minutes later.

"I don't mind. I like looking at you, too; you're very beautiful. Especially your eyes..." Palutena grins a bit sheepishly.

"M-my eyes?"

Palutena nods. "I love the Brand in your eye. It's gorgeous; gives you personality, y'know? Something uniquely you."

"What makes you unique?"

"My wings, perhaps? I'm not sure," Palutena says, giving little thought to it before turning to Lucina and shrugging.

Lucina decides to make her move. "There's something else." The goddess raises an eyebrow, and Lucina parts her lips, nervously anxious. "Y-you're the only one that my heart belongs to..."

The goddess immediately turns red, twiddling her thumbs. "Lucina. I..."

"I'm sorry. That was stupid, I shouldn't have said that," Lucina mumbles, turning away. "Let's pretend I never said that. My apologies."

"No!" Palutena says quickly, and a bit loudly. The younger woman jumps, and Palutena apologizes profusely. "I didn't mean to be that sharp. It's just that I wanted you to say that. My heart belongs to you, as well. It has...for a long time. I suppose one might say that I like you a lot. Maybe that...I'm very fond of you. Or, that I adore you, perhaps. Hold on, hold on...what I'm trying to say is that-"

"I love you too," Lucina interrupts. "Ever since I first saw you, everything was different for me. Even when you left for four years...even when you left for fourteen more, I never wanted anybody else."

"You didn't even let me say it," Palutena says, giggling a little. "I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you."

Lucina wonders why Palutena didn't remember that she had said the words once before, when she left for the second time; then she recalls that Palutena had taken the laurel off by then. "How-how does the laurel thing work, exactly?"

"It was kind of like a memory card," Palutena explains. "Once I began to disobey Zeus to travel to other worlds, he gave me a laurel to threaten me; he gave me the promise that he would take away those memories if I continued to act out...which I did. When I met you...I couldn't stay away, even though I knew it was poisonous. However, during the four years, I watched you from afar, never speaking to you. It hurt me...to see you waiting for me every morning." Lucina blushes, embarrassed. "I knew he would take my laurel eventually, so I gave it to you. If you had put it on, then everything I had seen within the time we knew each other would be yours and I would never be able to get it back."

"That's...amazing...so, the one you have on now...?"

Palutena shakes her head, rolling on her back. Her hair hung off of the bed, and Lucina kind of wanted to touch it. It was tempting, but she focused on what Palutena had to say. "No, this one is for a different purpose."

Biting her lip and averting her eyes, Lucina mumbles, "So you wouldn't mind if I...kept your old one?"

"Have it, sure," Palutena says, smiling softly. She sits up and kisses Lucina on the cheek; Lucina was  _not_  thinking of cheek-kisses right now, but she would take whatever she could get right now. She longed for the goddess' divine touch, anyway she could get it. "I love you. I like saying that. I love you a lot."

"Jeez, Clover, you're making me feel embarrassed."

"Mm. Is that so?" Palutena grinned, and, rolling Lucina over and pinning her down to the bed, kisses her cheek repeatedly while saying "I love you" over and over.  _I can't control myself when she's doing things like this...being pinned down by her, feeling her body against mine, it is...it's arousing,_  Lucina thinks. Palutena's breasts were flush against her, and her thigh rested in between Lucina's legs. Maybe if she moved her hips, just a  _little_..."Bluebird? What are you-"

Oh, shit. She had been caught! "I'm sorry, Clover. I wasn't thinking, I just needed...I am  _so_  sorry."

"I understand why you did it, it's...you caught me by surprise," Palutena says, laughing softly. "I'd very much like it if you don't do that again."

_Don't? She_ doesn't _want me to? Why the hell not?!_  "But-but-"

"Lucina, I'd prefer to wait until we have sex. We're not doing this tonight," Palutena explains, and Lucina flinches. They're not?

"No. You can't do that," Lucina groans. "Do you know...ngh. Do you know how many cursed years I spent touching myself and thinking of you? Too damn many! I need you to have sex with me. Right now! It's your fault I'm like this! You've left me waiting for so long and now I need release, so pay your goddamn dues!" Lucina knew it was unfair to blame Clover for something she couldn't control, but,  _damn it_ , she was horny.

The goddess had an odd look on her face, one of confusion, but simultaneously entertained. "I apologize for my absence. It was never what I wanted." Palutena had a solemn look on her face, and the bluenette knew she had struck a vein. Lucina was about to apologize, but Palutena continued to speak. "Lucina, I'd appreciate it if you respect my decision. It won't be long, I just want to spend time with you first. I want to wait."

Lucina blows air out from between her teeth, closing her eyes. "You...you're asking me to do something that's virtually impossible, but I suppose I could try. No guarantee that I won't pounce on you at any given time," the Exalt growls.

"Understood."

"But...kiss me, perhaps?"

Palutena grins, nuzzling Lucina's cheek before leaning in to kiss her. Of course, their noses bump, and with the speed that Palutena approached Lucina with, they both recoiled and held their noses. Still cradling hers in pain, Palutena says, "Let's come to a consensus on how we do this from now on."

"I tilt?"

"No, I'll do it."

"...I think mine is bleeding."

* * *

After Lucina's bloody nose was taken care of, the night went smoothly. Lucina couldn't resist stealing a few more kisses, but she mostly kept her libido in check (except for when her hand had snaked under Palutena's shirt and grabbed her breast). Lucina even slept in Palutena's bed after grabbing some clothes from Ylisse (and making out like teenagers for a while),

Days passed by, and they gained a routine. Lucina would come over, they would watch television or play games or read, and Lucina would try her hand but to no avail. Palutena was adamant about them waiting, although her resolve seemed to be breaking. What Lucina thought didn't matter, though; the goddess still refused to let up and give Lucina what she needed.

Lucina thoroughly enjoyed just being around Clover, though (had she called her Palutena even once?). There may have even been times that she had been around her and didn't feel horny, just enjoyed her company.  _I wonder if she's my girlfriend,_  Lucina had thought some nights ago. Lucina liked that thought, oddly. One evening, she asked Palutena if they were courting. The goddess scoffed and chuckled, still counting her Monopoly money from the round they were furiously contending in. "What do you think?"

Lucina wasn't exactly sure, so she replied, "What do  _you_  think?"

"I think it's painfully obvious that we are," Palutena said, rolling the dice. Lucina's heart began to slow; she didn't get rejected!

"I thought we were, I was just too scared to actually think it...if that makes sense," Lucina admitted. They continued the night without any other words about it.

A month after their first dinner-date, things began to escalate. Lucina was quite persistent, so she tried to grope Clover's bust once more during a game of cards turned into a make-out session; this time, a hand didn't push her away, but instead, Palutena let out a strained moan. The bluenette was quite surprised; she wasn't exactly expecting Palutena to let her do this, but instead, had opted for squeezing her breast for a split second instead of not trying anything at all. Lucina withdrew her hand, eyes wide. "You're not chickening out, are you?" Palutena jokes.

"No. I was just surprised that you let me do it," Lucina says, blushing.

"Believe me...I wanted to wait longer," Palutena murmured, pushing Lucina onto her back and ignoring the playing cards that flew through the air. Eventually, she swipes them all off of the bed. "But I can't do that when you look at me in the way that you do...and touch me in the way that you do. You're ridiculous, y'know? You just wouldn't quit."

Lucina pouts. "Because I want this, badly. I thought I made that clear." Clover didn't reply, but instead kissed Lucina again, this time pulling away prematurely and moving to her neck.  _We're going to do it! Ugh, but she's moving so slow!_

However, the bluenette didn't complain. The goddess had made it clear that her pacing was going to be slow, and romantic, or whatever. Lucina didn't want that, not by any means. She wanted it fast, wild. Lucina was desperate, though. She would take it however she could get it. Palutena sank her teeth into Lucina's neck and then sucked the spot, still on top of her.

"Mm...your skin tastes so sweet," Palutena murmurs. "I've never kissed your neck before. Now I want to touch you everywhere."

Lucina turned a bright red as Palutena's hand roamed her body aimlessly. "Everywhere?" Lucina squeaks, watching Palutena's hand as it sneaks down to her thigh.

" _Everywhere,_ " Palutena confirms, leaning in to whisper it in Lucina's ear. Her warm, wet tongue snaked out and teased Lucina's earlobe, causing a shiver to take over the younger woman's body. Once the tremor stopped, Palutena huffed. "Why must you wear a battle outfit all the time?"

"Always-"

"Prepared for battle, got it," Palutena finishes, quickly making away with Lucina's clothing. Lucina even had the Falchion on her back while they were playing cards. Rolling her eyes at the thought, Palutena slowed down, taking her time with Lucina's bra and boyshorts. The bluenette instinctively covered her chest by crossing her arms, but left the small triangle of shaved flesh bared for the goddess to see. However, that was not enough. Palutena wanted to see all of her. "What are you doing?"

Lucina stammers, "C-c-covering myself."

The goddess groans. "Please don't do that."

"I'm sorry. It's natural," Lucina says as Palutena removes her arms and places them to the side. Palutena doesn't reply, but instead studies Lucina's body. She was quite toned, but not too muscled; a sleek stomach and creamy skin. Palutena smiled a little at the freckle on her left hip. "Uh, I apologize. For the size."

"Of what?"

"My breasts," Lucina blurts out. "I know they're small...s-sorry." They were modest A-cups that, at the time, had rock-hard nipples begging to be groped and sucked.

Palutena frowns. "Do you honestly think I'm so shallow that I judge you because of your breast size? I love you the way you are." As if to make a point, Palutena leans her head down to capture a nipple in her mouth, rolling it between her teeth and gently biting; the yelp Lucina made was savory. Pulling off and blowing the wet nipple, Palutena grins. "Mm, yes. I definitely love you the way you are."

"I cannot take this teasing any longer, Clover," Lucina says, shaking with anticipation.

"Eh...you're not gonna come, are you?"

"No, but I think I'll go mad if you don't give me more."

The goddess chuckles. "I can't say I don't feel the same way. Let's get the show on the road." Palutena, unlike her girlfriend, had changed into more casual, relaxed wear after the battle; her armor was all off along with her laurel. She was wearing the t-shirt of some band with sweatpants. Quickly, she crossed her arms and pulled the t-shirt over her head.  _No bra!_ Lucina thinks, a bit excitedly. Next, Palutena swiftly sheds her sweatpants and underwear in one fell swoop. Palutena was fully naked in front of Lucina, and the girl was speechless. "You look a bit...slack-jawed."

Lucina hadn't even realized her mouth was wide open. She closed it, then opened it once more when she said, "My apologies...your body is just amazing. I'd like to touch you, if I may."

"You don't have to ask, honey. I wouldn't be stark naked in front of you if I didn't want you to touch me." Palutena leaned forward and kissed Lucina once more, gasping into her mouth when a curious hand squeezes her breast roughly. She pulls away to moan louder as Lucina's grip increased, her eyes shutting tight.

"Too hard?" Lucina cries out, scared that she had hurt her goddess; her hand began to knead slower and softer.

"Oh, Gods,  _yes_ ," she pants, but shakes her head when Lucina took her hand off. "I mean-no, no, it's not too hard. Please do that again!" It was arousing to see the composed woman above her losing control, so Lucina moves one hand to her breast once more, squeezing and kneading it with no relent. Palutena kisses her again and Lucina grew braver; her other hand snaked down Palutena's torso until it reached the goddess' groin. Lucina wriggles a finger inside, causing the goddess to bury her face in Lucina's shoulder. The goddess pulls away, her cheeks rosy with arousal. "No, no, pull your finger out."

Lucina does as she's told. "I'm sorry. Did I cross a boundary?"

"N-no. I just want to do this a different way," Palutena explains, lifting Lucina's legs. Leaning forward, she bites into Lucina's shoulder, positioning her hips so that she was perfectly in between Lucina's legs. "Stay still, please," Palutena says when Lucina begins to squirm. Lucina complies. Palutena lowers her hips, and Lucina jumps when she feels something...warm...on her clitoris.  _Is that...that's Palutena's pussy?_  It felt so good! Apparently, the goddess felt the same; she had gripped Lucina's thighs hard enough to leave nail marks. She moves her hips again, and her clit rubs against Lucina's. They both shrieked with pleasure as Palutena gains a steady pace.

Her movements were quite clumsy, still, as her desires overtook her. Palutena was panting raggedly and crying out when the pleasure became too much to bear, but she immediately righted it and gained a staccato thrust. Lucina was biting her lip, and her face was twisted in pleasure; her small mewls and blushed expression fueled Palutena, but the girl was so self-conscious that she crossed her arms over her face.

"Nh-don't-do-that," Palutena says, her thrusts slowing down tremendously. She takes Lucina's arms and pins them above her head with one hand, beginning to move faster once more. "I love you," she mumbles. "Oh, gods, I love you!"

Lucina couldn't speak, but if she could, there's no doubt that she would be screaming that she loved Clover with all of her heart. However, Clover was now reaching between them to pinch Lucina's nipple, the leg that Palutena was holding with that hand wrapped around the goddess' waist (along with the one that was held by the now-pinning hand). Lucina was left speechless at how calculated, how  _perfect_  everything Palutena did seemed, even when she was in the throes of pleasure. Even her face looked gorgeous, her eyes shut tight. Clover's hair, even when she wasn't leaning down into her Bluebird, tickled the younger girl's cheeks and neck, intensifying the feel of Clover all over her.

Both of them were slick with arousal and oh-so sensitive; every touch, rub, bite, lick, kiss...it was electric. After years of waiting for this, both of them were already on the edge, their lips meeting in a hasty kiss. "I'm close-so close!"

"Me too," Lucina moans, her words barely legible. They were laced with raises in pitch and whimpers.

Clover sped up her pace, the bucking of her hips once more nonrhythmic and fumbling in their movement. "Fuck. Fuck!" Lucina growls in pleasure when she hears her goddess moaning such inappropriate words. She hadn't heard her curse since they were mere children, and when she heard it, it made Lucina think of how cool Clover was, that she would say those words with such bravery; now, however, it sent darts of gratification through Lucina. "Lucy-I need you-ah! I need you to say my name..."

"Gods, Clover, move faster!" Lucina screamed, voicing her request and accomplishing Clover's in one hit.

However, the greenette was not yet satisfied. "Gah-Lucina! Say...my...name." Clover had indeed sped up, and Lucina could feel her stomach tightening to the point where it would explode soon, unravel her into nothing more than white-hot indulgence.

"Mm-oh-yes! I'm coming, I'm coming! That's it!" Lucina babbles, pulling Clover to her selfishly with her legs. "A-ah- _Palutena_!"

With that wanton cry of the goddess' name, both of them orgasmed, Palutena's hips never ceasing in their movement. Palutena had never heard her name coming off of her love's lips, but it sounded heavenly; she came on the spot when she heard it in that ecstasy-laced tone. Her hands moved from Lucina's breast and wrists to grip the sheets, while Lucina clawed at Palutena's shoulders.

Once they both finished, Palutena rolled off of her lover, both of them meeting in the middle for a passionate kiss. Their hands explored even more, groping and grabbing and rubbing and teasing. Once they pulled away, Lucina went straight to Palutena's neck, leaving pink marks on the already flushed skin. "Hm. Easy there."

"Sorry," Lucina mumbled around sweaty, newly-marked flesh. She wasn't the least bit sorry because she was still sucking and biting as she pleased.

"Th-that was the first time you've ever called me Palutena, you know," the goddess remarks, pulling Lucina to her.

Pulling away and looking up at her lover, Lucina thinks before saying, "It is indeed. I think I like saying it, but can I still refer to you as Clover?"

The goddess nuzzles Lucina, kissing her forehead. "Whenever you'd like."

* * *

Of course, after the women had gotten one taste of each other, it was never enough. They were in bed (or wherever else seemed fit for a good fucking) almost all of the time until their hands knew every inch of the other's body.

However, there was a thought that was niggling in the back of Palutena's mind. After she had received her memories, everything was fresh, as if it all happened yesterday. The one thing that kept eating away at her was something Lucina said when they were mere children:  _I...people say that kissing a girl is wrong. Or marrying a girl. Not that I want to marry you! I mean, not that I wouldn't. Um...never mind. I just want to say that people say it's wrong. But I want to do it. Not marry you! Kiss you!_

That was pretty cute, Palutena had to admit. It was the marriage part that was on her mind, though. What  _if_  she proposed to Lucina? Would the girl be scared? Happy? Would she say yes, no? Palutena was frightened. There were so many ways that a proposal had gone wrong.

The goddess had at first sent Pit to go get a ring, but Palutena noticed it was a lot more complicated than that. She had to actually see what would fit. So, she held Lucina's hand over the next couple of days, occasionally kissing it or swinging it while they walked to seem a bit more subtle. Lucina looked quite confused, but didn't object.

Next, Palutena offhandedly mentioned rings a couple of times. Wedding rings. "You want to know what I saw?" She said once while they were cuddling (and after Palutena had finished guesstimating her ring size again).

Lucina looked up at her questioningly. "What?"

"I saw a beautiful ring. One of my goddess friends," Palutena says, adding the last part quickly. "Diamond. Imagine how beautiful a diamond ring would look on you."

"Hmm," Lucina said, and she looked as if she were thinking before she shrugged. "I can't think it up, but I don't have a vivid imagination, exactly." The conversation ended there, which Palutena found maddening. She tried a couple times more until she started to get some weird looks from her lover.

Finally, the real moment of truth came up. Well, not the  _real_  one. The one where she goes to the store and picks one out. Of course, only the best for her Lucina, so she decided to pick something flashy; then she realized that that wasn't Lucina's style. Something simple would do for her. The goddess frowns and looks at the display case once more. All of the Centurions in the jewelry store were staring at her in surprise; usually, when the goddess needed something, they would see Pit in her place. The winged clerk was smiling nervously and awaiting her next command. Palutena "hm"s in thought then says, "Something exquisite. But simple."

The Centurion immediately panicked. "Th-that's a lot of what we have in stock, Lady Palutena!"

"Then show it all to me." She realized she may have been a bit overwhelming, but this wasn't a decision she was going to just  _make_. The angel flew around the room quickly, trying to gather every piece of jewelry fitting the goddess' description. After he finished, he had about thirty rings. Palutena didn't even look at them all before pointing one out. "Oh, yes, _that_  one!" She exclaims. "Box 'er up." It was the perfect size for Lucina's finger, and definitely fit the description of what Palutena wanted. It was a shiny golden band with several relatively small diamonds (although the one in the case with a shitload of diamonds looked better to the goddess personally), and it was just so  _perfect_.

The angel nods, relieved that the goddess was pleased. He quickly but gently places the ring in the box and the box in a bag, handing it to the goddess, who smiled triumphantly. Spreading her wings and taking flight, Palutena grins in excitement. Lucina should be at the palace right now; the goddess had asked her to dinner. The younger woman was indeed sitting at the doorstep of the palace. Palutena landed in front of her, excited to get her inside and pop the question. Lucina stands, an odd look in her eye; Palutena pushes on anyway. "Hi, Lucina! I-"

Palutena couldn't finish, because Lucina's lips were on hers. The bluenette was clawing at Palutena's shoulders, trying to get a good grip on her body and access more of her. The goddess was severely caught off guard, and was desperately trying to find some ground and maintain her standing position. Finally, Lucina pulled away, breathing hard. Palutena didn't have time to ask for an explanation, because Lucina was already speaking, panting slightly; her blue eyes were glazed over with hunger. "I-I have been thinking about you  _all day_. I couldn't even fight or train correctly because I wanted you so bad. Skip dinner? Please? We can eat after, I don't care, I just... _ah,_  I want to fuck you right now!" Lucina was back on Palutena within seconds, and the goddess dropped the bag in surprise, reaching around to grab Lucina's round ass. It wasn't hard to give in to desire when it came to Lucina.

"Do you guys have to do that right  _here?_ "

Lucina whips around to see Pit standing at the doorway, and the goddess turns cherry red. "My apologies, Pit! We were just-ah-"

"I know what you were doing," the angel groans.

Lucina didn't look the least bit shameful, Palutena noted; in fact, she was smiling a little. Palutena was thankful Pit showed up, or else she might've taken Lucina on the ground where they stood. What a tempting idea, to shove her to the grass and tug her leggings down and eat her out for all of Skyworld to see.  _Oh, dear, it seems I'm an exhibitionist now._  "Once again, I apologize." Palutena takes Lucina's hand after picking up the bag and drags her past Pit and into the house and out through the back to Palutena's garden.

Of course, it wasn't really hers; she had Centurions tend to it for her. However, the fountains and the flowers that were planted were all her ideas. She takes Lucina to a bench and sits her down, clasping the woman's hand. Smirking, Lucina remarks, "So you want to do it in the garden? Fine with me." Lucina begins to assault her lover's mouth once more, but Palutena raises a hand between them, causing the girl to growl. "Palutena, you know I get cranky if I'm horny."

"I'm aware. I just wanna talk, really quickly. About us." Palutena saw Lucina's face pale with alarm. "No-nothing bad! If anything, the opposite! I think it's good."

The bluenette took a deep breath and nodded, focusing her attention on Palutena. "I'm all ears."

"Alright. So, we met when we were basically just babies. And then I left, which, I'll reiterate for the hundredth time, I'm very sorry about. Anyway, I came back and we were older. We understood things better. A lot of things," Palutena said, the sexual undertone in that statement evident. "But we knew about, the, um, non-sexual things too, y'know? The love things. Do you understand? This is proving to put me in a quandary, so please stop me if I'm confusing you."

Lucina took Palutena's hand, and the goddess groans inwardly. This was hard enough without Lucina making her so nervous! "Yes, I'm with you."

"Good. Alright, allow me to continue." Taking a deep breath, Palutena worked up the courage to start up again. "We now know about these, er, love things even more than we did before. Especially since we got to experience it first-hand...with each other. Emotionally and... _physically_."

Scratching the back of her neck, the Exalt clears her throat. "Y-yes, that's all true."

"We're in no way experts. Perhaps I'm speaking for myself, but this is all so new. Feeling like this, like a half of a whole. Everyone's a part of something, but to just be...two. An intimate connection like that, it's so different, so singular and unique. But still so unaccustomed and, if I'm honest, quite odd. I love it," Palutena says, her thumb stroking the back of Lucina's hand. "I love you. And I want to know this feeling forever, I want to learn it inside and out. I want to learn about you, inside and out. I want you to be the other half of a whole, our whole."

Lucina was scarlet by now, and looking down at their hands shyly. "I love you too, Clover. I'd love to be with you forever."

"Then why not seal the deal?" Palutena smiles lightly, digging into the bag and pulling out the ring case. "It'll be us. Forever. The same as before, except with rings and a huge, tasty, sweet...delicious...wedding cake."  _Well, now I'm hungry. Back on track, Palutena._  Opening the ring case, Palutena kneels, laughing a little when she sees Lucina clutching the bench as if it were the only thing grounding her. "So? How about it? You and I. Married."

The bluenette looked about ready to pass out. "P-P-Palutena! I don't know what to-how-"

"At least put the ring on," Palutena grovels. She hadn't risen from the kneeling position and didn't plan to until that woman said yes to her. Pulling the ring from the box, Palutena sets the case down next to her girlfriend (and hopefully, soon-to-be fiance) and slips the ring on. "Ah, yes. See? The perfect fit. Just like I thought!"

"I don't know what to say," Lucina mumbles, still staring at the ring.

"Then just say 'yes'!" Palutena exclaims. "I'm not beneath begging, Lucina. I will do it." Palutena slips her other knee from underneath her so that she was on both knees, clasping her hands together. "Please marry me. Please marry me. Please!"

"Of course I will, there was never any debate about that." The younger woman seemed almost astonished. "I just didn't think that you would ask me to marry you. It seemed almost too good to be true...I've been...ugh. This'll seem quite girlish, but I've been dreaming of what our wedding will be like since I was a girl."

Palutena rises and sits next to Lucina again, brushing herself off and taking Lucina's hands in hers. Oh, that ring looked wonderful on her. "Then every decision that you want to make is yours. Colors, flowers, venue, music, food, whatever you want to decide, it's in your hands. Everything else we'll leave to a wedding planner so you don't get stressed. Anything you want is yours now, do you hear me? I know this isn't exactly your style, but I  _will_  see to it that you live like the queen you are!"

Lucina groans. "Palutena..."

"I must. It can't be helped or changed, so just learn to live with it, hm?" Palutena brings her hands together and kisses them, sighing in content.

"But Ylisse-" Lucina says suddenly.

Palutena was one step ahead. "During the weekdays you rule over your kingdom, but the evenings and weekends belong to me. Fair, no? It'll be like...like going to work. Skyworld will be your home, but you go to Ylisse whenever you need or want. Lucina, I doubt you will find any bumps along this road we're paving. In light of that, I'd like you to relax a little and just think of all the fun we're going to have together."

Lucina noticeably became less tense. "And...now that I'm reunited with you, I suppose I could introduce you to my friends."

"There, that's the spirit!" Palutena was well aware that Lucina shut herself off after her second departure. Gods, how Clover hated that thought, how Lucina was like a wandering soul without the goddess. It was flattering, though. "Yes, the bunny boy and that flirty friend that you've spoke of. See? Aren't you already excited?"

The bluenette was grinning wildly now. "Y-yes! Oh, Palutena, this'll be perfect. Having you as my wife."

Palutena noted that it felt all good and weird and tingly when Lucina called Palutena her (future) wife. "And you as mine."

"B-but one more thing, Palutena?"

"Hm?"

"I'm still quite horny. Perhaps your wifely duties can begin now?"

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews, please! They fuel me to write more. Concrit is highly accepted! Good, bad, bood, gad. Thanks for reading sixteen thousand words of rapid lesbianism, you lifeless hobos!


End file.
